Eric Zeisl - UCLA Philharmonia

(available for purchase here)

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The tragic and folksy qualities that pervade much of Zeisl’s music can also be heard in the Concerto Grosso for cello and orchestra, an alluring work he wrote in the mid-1950s for Gregor Piatigorsky. The bold soloist here is Antonio Lysy, who manages the tricky writing with aplomb and teams vibrantly with the UCLA players and conductor Stulberg.

 - Donald Rosenberg, Gramophone

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Zeisl’s Concerto Grosso has about it the sonic aura one associates with, say, some of Ernest Bloch’s Hebraic-themed works – or a soundtrack one might associate with a Cecil B. DeMille biblical epic. As well, there’s the occasional grating dissonance that sets the teeth on edge.Throughout, Antonio Lysy is in impressive form, the solo line beautifully shaped and confidently stated, his bowing a model of its kind…

I hope this fine recording is heard by many. It certainly deserves to be…

- Neville Cohn, OZartsreview - Australia's online independant specialist music review journal

Antonio Lysy at the Broad - Music From Argentina

(available for purchase here)

 

In all cases, Lysy's playing is exemplary. Not only does he toss off any technical difficulties with apparent ease, but also brings his heritage to the fore with brilliantly stylized interpretations filled with panache, passion and Argentine flair.

— Allmusic.com

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I recently received Yarlung Records "Antonio Lysy at the Broad, Music from Argentina" and couldn't believe what I was hearing. Michael Fremer gave this Grammy-winning recording an 11 out of 10 for both music and sonics and I couldn't agree more.

- Audio Asylum

 

Antonio, your cd is great. Great performance, great recorded sound - no doubt in part because of the great Broad Stage ambience, also with the tube gear and my friend Eliot Midwood helping with the mix. The sound is a cut above 99% of all classical recordings. This is music for people who don't listen to classical music.

- Tom Schnabel, KCRW Los Angeles

 

The solo cello and string tone behind it are rich and natural. This interesting disc showcases the cello of Antonio Lysy and the five selections show the impact of both pre-Hispanic Amerindian traditions and Spanish Creole influences, as well a modern influences such as the Argentine tango.

- Audiophile Audition

 

In a word, magnificent!

- Guy Lemcoe, The Audio Beat 

 

If this recording doesn't move you emotionally you are brain dead. If you don't agree that this is one of the finest recordings you have ever heard, your system needs to go in for repairs.

 

I've played this record repeatedly over the past few days and I can't get enough. When it's over you'll sit in stunned silence, I guaranty!

- Michael Fremer, Music Angle

 

However, what really struck me this morning was the music's ability to transport me to a culture and land that urged exploration. The pathos of a place and people seemed to hang on each note and I found myself on a mental journey across the open grassland, absorbed in the romance of it and consumed by feelings of desire and fulfillment. At the end of the track I felt curiously connected to this new world and strangely to my own.

- Suzanne Deal Booth, Huffington Post

Bach to Berio

(available for purchase here)

 

Lysy plays the Bach preludes with remarkable spontaneity, yet with an innate appreciation of their architecture, and he realises Bach's harmonic texture and contrapuntal strands with the utmost clarity. He instills the various stylised dance movements with appropriate character and elegance and displays an impressive command of phrasing, accentuation and articulation.

— The Strad

 

The bulk of the recital is given over to Bach's Third and Fifth Cello Suites, masterworks whose cruel demands on technique, intellect and sensitivity to the music's dance origins have found some of the most distinguished names in the cello firmament occasionally wanting - at least on disc. Lysy etches the music in subtly understated shades and hues (as opposed to the bold primary colours of a Tortelier or a Rostropovich), yet avoids the implacable austerity of a Dengron or a Fournier. He gives free rein to the music's improvisational qualities without losing sight of it's structural integrity, articulating the Fifth Suite's Courant with an obvious awareness of period-instrument niceties.

— International Record Review